Blair Adams Mystery

The death of a young man found in a Tennessee parking lot remains a mystery.

The events that transpired prior to the mysterious death of the British Columbia resident seemed to make no sense at all. He had suddenly exhibited an acute case of paranoia and thought someone was trying to kill him. Authorities who later investigated his death believed that his fear did not stem from anything real. But then how and why did he end up murdered thousands of miles away? Was it really just psychotic paranoia, or could someone have really tracked him all that way and take his life in cold blood? This is the strange mystery of Blair Adams.

On the morning of July 11, 1996, 32-year-old Blair Adams was found dead in a deserted parking lot in Knoxville, Tennessee. Adams had travelled over 3,000 kilometres (2,000 mi) from his hometown of Surrey, British Columbia, for unexplained reasons. Adams worked as a construction foreman, but in the weeks prior to his death, he had been displaying erratic and paranoid behaviour and seemed certain that someone was trying to kill him.

For anyone who thought that stark international aggression was a thing of the past, the last week must have come as a startling wake-up call. After clashes in the Georgian region of South Ossetia, Russia invaded its neighbor, launching attacks that threaten its very existence. Some Americans may wonder why events in this part of the world are any concern of ours. After all, Georgia is a small, remote and obscure place. But history is often made in remote, obscure places.

Exactly. He then explains why he is suspicious of the Russian motives.

Two years ago, I traveled to South Ossetia. As soon as we arrived at its self-proclaimed capital — now occupied by Russian troops — I saw an enormous billboard that read, “Vladimir Putin, Our President.” This was on sovereign Georgian territory.

Russian claims of humanitarian motives were further belied by a bombing campaign that encompassed the whole of Georgia, destroying military bases, apartment buildings and other infrastructure, and leaving innocent civilians wounded and killed. As the Russian Black Sea Fleet began concentrating off of the Georgian coast and Russian troops advanced on one city after another, there could be no doubt about the nature of their aggression.

Despite a French-brokered cease-fire — which worryingly does not refer to Georgia’s territorial integrity — Russian attacks have continued. There are credible reports of civilian killings and even ethnic cleansing as Russian troops move deeper into Georgian territory.

Essentially Russia is annexing Georgia. Saddam Hussein did this in Kuwait and we went to war. This situation is almost identical. People in this part of the world live hard and Russian aggression makes that living even harder.